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BORN: Oct. 15, 1944, Butts County EDUCATION: Jackson High School, graduated, 1962 FAMILY: Wife, Julie Watkins; four children RELIGION: Methodist MILITARY: National Guard, 1964-70 OCCUPATION: Trucking-company owner POLITICAL CAREER: Butts County commission chairman, 1977-81; Georgia Senate, 1989-92; U.S. House, 1992- ADDRESS: P.O. Box 35, Jonesboro 30237. Tel.: 770-471-0048
Collins was among the dozens of G.O.P. Congressmen who felt they were sent to Washington to trim the budget, downsize the Federal Government and lower taxes. But he also has paid attention to his constituents, many of whom depend on air travel and the military for their livelihood (the Third is home to Fort Gillem and Hartsfield Airport), supporting the repeal of airline fuel taxes and just about any bill that would increase defense spending.
THE ISSUES Budget YES Medicare YES Defense NO Abortion YES Guns NO Gays YES Bosnia YES NAFTA NO Welfare YES Medical Leave NO (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "American workers pay the bills for all government programs and for all services. How much more government can they afford?"
CYNTHIA MCKINNEY (D) District 4 (Atlanta suburbs--most of De Kalb County; part of Gwinnett County)
BORN: March 17, 1955, Atlanta EDUCATION: U of Southern California, B.A., 1978 FAMILY: Divorced; one child RELIGION: Roman Catholic MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Professor POLITICAL CAREER: Georgia House, 1989-92; U.S. House, 1992- ADDRESS: P.O. Box 371125, Decatur 30037. Tel.: 404-243-5574
Outspoken and flamboyant, McKinney is Georgia's first black Congresswoman. In 1992 she was elected in the 11th District, which until last year was 64% African American. But she will seek re-election in the Fourth, which is only 33% black, because in 1995 the Supreme Court declared that the boundaries of the 11th had been unconstitutionally drawn on the basis of race. Her challenge now is to appeal to voters of both races, and with her campaign slogan, "Annoy Newt," she surprised onlookers by beating three white men to take the primary with 67% of the vote.
THE ISSUES Budget NO Medicare NO Defense NR Abortion NO Guns YES Gays NO Bosnia NO NAFTA NO Welfare NO Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "I am every woman's dream of what they could be, and every man's nightmare of what their wife might be."
JOHN MITNICK (R) District 4
BORN: May 8, 1962, East Orange, N.J. EDUCATION: Emory U, B.A., 1984; Oxford U, B.A., 1987; U of Virginia, J.D., 1988 FAMILY: Single RELIGION: Jewish MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Lawyer POLITICAL CAREER: None ADDRESS: P.O. Box 95404, Atlanta 30347. Tel.: 404-320-1996
In the recently redrawn Fourth, it's hard to tell which way voters will lean--it's a whiter, more conservative district than the one Cynthia McKinney last represented. If it's conservative, Mitnick has the edge, with a core Republican platform of lower taxes, a balanced-budget amendment, school vouchers and the abolishing of the Department of Education.
THE ISSUES
Budget YES Medicare YES Defense YES Abortion YES Guns YES Gays YES Bosnia NO NAFTA YES Welfare YES Medical Leave NR (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)